u/Fickle_Strawberry_26

I’m 26f, I’ve been diagnosed with autism for 3 years now. I’ve been working at my job as a sales assistant for 5 years now and I’m struggling. I’ve done full time hours, part time hours and either way I feel so burnt out.

I’ve thought about handing in a sick note, handing in my notice. I don’t know what to do anymore. I just feel stuck and unable to just be normal. I wish I could be normal and live a life without autism. I don’t know what to do with my life anymore in terms of my career.

I’m 26f and I’ve been working as a sales assistant in a regular uk supermarket chain for nearly 5 years this year. During that time I was diagnosed with autism and my mental health has been in a decline.

I’ve worked with some amazing people, and even fought back over a rather sleazy boss who tried to fire me for my autism (which goes against the Equality Act and he actually got fired for this) I now have an amazing boss who has been nothing but supportive with my autism and mental health issues. She supports me with any accommodations I need such as only giving me part time hours which is what works best for me.

But my mental health is continuously declining and this job has put me into burnout. I’m struggling to handle anything including my basic living. There are also some people I work with who are lazy and toxic and being around them has also been a hinderance to my mental health. Now some co workers are lovely but others have put me in tears. I’m struggling to keep up with what this company wants from me and my mental health makes it hard to do this.

I’ve thought about quitting many times, but my Nan specifically has urged me not to since I don’t have a backup plan or another job to go to. I can’t take this current job anymore I just want to up and leave. I can’t take the drama between coworkers and constant bitching and feeling like I can’t keep up. I just worry if I do this what will my family think about me upping and leaving without another job lined up?

Now I live in the uk and I do earn benefits which do allow me to work part time and still be able to afford my rent and live. If I quit my job I’ll still have enough to pay my rent and live. There just feels like a lot of stigma around leaving without a backup plan and I don’t want backlash from my family. Would I be wrong to quit? Would I be a disappointment?